Vodafone starts selling iPhones online

Vodafone has launched an online store where Australians can choose their pricing plan and buy their Apple 3G iPhone right now.

The company sent the site live this afternoon, publicising it in an email sent to customers who had pre-registered with the company to buy the iPhone and saying the highly anticipated handset could be bought "right now".

The iPhone is not slated to go on sale in Australia until midnight tonight. Meanwhile, New Zealand will start selling it a little earlier, and will be the first retail customers in the world to be able to pick up the 3G iPhone.

A Vodafone spokesperson confirmed the company had launched the store but said the telco had not jumped the gun, as it was a "pre-sale" offering, with iPhones to be mailed to customers after the worldwide launch.

The news comes as a lack of information on the part of mobile carriers, third-party resellers and Apple itself has left the Australian public in the dark when it comes to knowing exactly where it can buy the much-anticipated iPhone 3G handset when it launches tomorrow morning.